Nine First Nights
by Willowsandbees
Summary: (Set of connected one-shots, no intentional/strong pairings)(Now has a chapter 2: Nami) Each Strawhat has a story, and each one has had that hesitant first night in a new home, with newfound freedom. The captain is there when they need him most, when they still have so many things to learn about themselves, and when they still have so much to learn about him...
1. Zoro

Nine First Nights

Authors Note:

Basically, I was daydreaming in math class and this idea for a short set of one-shots appeared in my head. I was originally going to have it be about robin's first night on the ship and her uncertainty, but I realized that it wasn't just her, that all of them probably felt the same. Thus, this was created, starting with Luffy's first comrade, the swordsman/first mate himself.

I actually know the general idea for all of the one-shots, so this will be updated and finished relatively quickly. Also, yes, my drabble fic will continue. Also, some of the keys on my keyboard are sticking so please excuse some typos. xD

I like this one a bit, but it's not my favorite writing-wise because I struggle writing for Zoro because he's so stoic and the partnership he has with Luffy is kind of hard to express sometimes.

Anyways, Enjoy I suppose~

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Roronoa Zoro had absolutely no idea what he was doing here, floating on a tiny boat in the middle of nowhere, clutching Kuina's katana to his chest. His sleepy eyes opened wider, and his eyelids peeled apart as his vision cleared. His mind cleared with it and he became vaguely aware of his current situation.

His eyes drifted and focused on the boy, who sat at the front of the ship with his legs crossed, whose state of mind felt like it was somewhere far away. He shifted, and the moment was broken when the boy turned to give him an owlish look, which quickly broke into a small grin.

"You sleep like the dead, and snore a lot," He stated bluntly, staring directly at him,"And you always hold that sword." He chuckled a little. Zoro let the silence after hang as he clutched the sword tighter, a nostalgic look on his face. The boy took it as a signal that the swordsman was open for a minimal amount of conversation.

"It's important, right?" The boy leaned back in a casual way as he turned away, his expression unknown to the swordsman.

"It's not worth anything to _you_. I have no idea if it can bring any profit."

"That's not what I meant," The boy said in a firm tone. "It's like this hat, right?" The swordsman was taken aback by the simple words, reminded of something the boy had said earlier.

Something inside his head clicked and it finally dawned on the tired man that this was not a _boy_, but rather the man and leader that a far more conscious version of him had chosen to follow into uncertainty. The boy was his _captain. Luffy. _

"Who did you make a promise to?" Luffy said firmly, looking up to the stars with false innocence, knowing fully the potential depth of the question he presented, and the lack of courtesy it held.

"…A childhood rival." Zoro said after a moment of silence between the two when he had debated whether or not to say anything. "A friend." His eyes softened.

Nothing else was said between the two, they simply heard and understood. He recalled the similar question he had asked the boy earlier that day as the waves lulled him back to sleep.

"_Why's the hat so important?" He asked as he handed the straw hat back to the younger man behind him, who was grateful that it had been prevented from being blown away. The captain grasped it firmly, staring at it with an intensity Zoro had seen on his own face countless times._

"_I made a promise…" Zoro inhaled sharply as Luffy continued, his hand falling to his swords. " …to the man that saved my life."_

Zoro smirked as he became drowsier, the captain returning to his original state of not _thinking_, but rather guarding and seeing what lies ahead.

_Then, as the man who saved mine,_ Zoro mused, _ I owe you at least a promise of my loyalty…_

_Captain._


	2. Nami

LuNa if you squint at it long enough, but it wasn't really my intention xD

Sorry for the long delay. ^^ This is set the night right after they set off from (Orange Town?) where they fought Buggy's crew. I was re-watching the episodes before writing this and noticed this one line Nami said, "He fought that lion…just for the sake of that dog?" and I don't know, that just struck me sort of, haha xD

So, yeah. Here's Nami's. J

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It was the pitch-black midnight kind of dark, and she hadn't slept for even a second.

Sure, these guys didn't _seem_ as intimidatingly nefarious as some of the characters she's had to pretend to cooperate with, but who knows what they could be planning right now? They could try to take the money she had with her and throw her over-board, or worse, shoot her or cut her up. (That swordsman was no joke, and he seemed loyal to the 'Captain' of the little vessel) She couldn't afford to sleep, not right now. Not yet.

_You _know_ they're not that bad. You saw what he did for that little dog. _

_Yes, but…_ she argued with herself, but every cell in her body was telling her that this time wouldn't be any different than her other con jobs, and that those she was planning to steal from were just as devious as those before. She couldn't have her happiness, and that was shown through everything that had happened to her, to Bellemere, to Cocoyashi. She couldn't be free. Not yet. _Not yet…_

"Are you still up?" the boy-captain's voice spoke from behind her, making her jump, and she scolded herself for carelessly letting him sneak up behind her. "You couldn't sleep?" There was a twinge of worry in his voice, but she ignored it as she kept her back to him.

"Haha, no, I just, ah…" she turned her head towards him, offering a fake smile, her eyes scrunched shut. She knew how readable they could be. "… I just woke up for a minute, that's all. Some jolt of the boat probably woke me. No problem here."

"Eh, really? Alright." He moved to sit next to her, and she moved a few inches away, her hands ready to jump to her guard at a moment's notice, hidden under the blanket she had draped loosely around her shoulders. He was calm in a way that seemed very approachable, and she dropped her guard slightly.

"You…you're not going back to sleep?" She asked, a bit of apprehensiveness still in her voice because otherwise, she would have to be constantly watching her back until he moved to go back to his makeshift bed. _What could he be up to?_

"Nah," He smiled gently, and her eyes widened slightly. "I kinda just want to watch the stars for a bit," he said in an innocent tone.

She glanced up for the first time all night, and her eyes grew with a hint of childish wonderment bubbling up through the steel guard she had placed up for years.

"The stars are reallyyyy bright over the sea, aren't they?" He chuckled happily. She the thick skin at her knees tightly. She wouldn't let herself be deceived by false youth or happiness. She had faked enough smiles and laughs to sneak into places and rob people blind and knew what it looked like. However, he was hard to read in many ways, and it threw her off- she couldn't tell if her own efforts of deception were coming off the way she wished or if his own happiness was to hide discovery of her deceit. She just couldn't be sure anymore.

"I guess so." She stated somewhat dismissively to fill the silence.

"You know," he smiled dazedly, "People watch over from us from the stars."

Her arms dropped to her sides, and she was taken aback slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"Lots of people. People who left us. All sorts of people. Short ones, tall ones, old and even ugly ones," He leaned forward, folding his hands in his lap, his tone full of a certain story-teller like exaggeration that she couldn't quite place. "People we loved...love," He stated somewhat solemnly, catching her attention, and she frowned slightly. He shifted around slightly, turning towards her, starting to smile again.

"But, we just have to become stronger to make them proud, right?" The mood suddenly lightened considerably as he smiled widely and genuinely to the point that she could see his gums.

Nami scoffed a little, and he raised an eyebrow, making a childishly cute frown of confusion.

"Speak for yourself." She glanced upwards. "If that's what is expected of me, I'm letting down those here too." Her hair fell in front of her eyes, and her face grew dark, her tone cold. "I'm just a weak little thing… If it was that simple, I would have escaped this hell long ago." She grimaced, caught her slip and attempted to recover. "Not this place, that is! It's just some old bothersome thing, doesn't really matter." And her guard was up again as she waved her hand halfheartedly. She smiled with the corners of her mouth pulled tight. Her arms and shoulders were stiff.

He gave her a serious look, and a long silence grew as he stared at her intensely, seeming to wait for something. She laughed nervously, walking over to the little mat set out for her as if intending to go to sleep. She looked back at him, still smiling weakly.

"You should really go to bed...you know?" Another weak chuckle. She opened her eyes to look at him as the smile faded. He was still staring at her intently and nearly unblinkingly. She sat kneeling on the mat, and leaned gently against the wall, returning the stare.

She sighed. She understood that he could see right through that act.

"Fine, it's a problem." She ran a hand through her hair tiredly. "...but it's nothing I want to get you boys involved with, _at all._ I don't want anyone else getting involved or _trying _to helpunnecessarily, okay?" She said, stern and finally sincere with her words.

His shoulders and face relaxed, and she buried her forehead in one of her palms. She heard him shift, and she pulled her hand away slightly, looking up in his direction.

"Just remember, I don't have any problem fighting lions for the sake of a little dog." He smiled widely, pushing down on his knee to stand up. "If I decide the dog is worth far more than some lion, worth risking my life for, that's that." He stated mysteriously, walking over to the blankets he had abandoned.

He threw one more smile over his shoulder, his face holding something heartwarming in combination with the words he spoke, and a genuine smile bubbled up from somewhere in her chest.  
>"G'night!" He piped up from around the corner. Her smile widened with a hint of hope glimmering in her.<p>

"Goodnight, Captain."

And she slept.


End file.
